Apparatus for sanding highways



Dec. 1, 1942. R. GADDIS APPARATUS FOR SANDING HIGHWAYS Filed Dec. 20, 1939 b O O i INVEN TOR. my 6400/5 BY ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 1, 1942 UNITED- smres OFFICE",

7 Claims.

This invention relates tosanddistributing ma chines and particularly to a means forand'method of evenly and effectively distributing sand and the like on the surfaces ofroadways and making it stick to such surfaces.

It has become common practice during thelast few years to spread sand, cinders or other abrasive material over icy streets and highwaysto help eliminate some of the dangers of driving during icy weather. Frequently such materials are distributed by hand, as by shoveling it out'of a moving truck.- This is, of course, a'veryinefficient method-of distribution as the sand is lumpy and the worker cannot distribute it in the even, widely distributed pattern necessary for uniform, efficient sanding.

Several types ofmechanical sanders have been proposed but I have found that most ofthese have no means for regulating accurately'the quantity of sand distributed. For'instance', an

intersection might require much heavier sanding than a level highway.

It is, therefore, a primary object of my invention to provide an improved device for distribut ing sand or other substances of the like, and for aside by passing cars, particularly in an area where the cars suddenly increase their speed or apply their brakes.

It "is, therefore, another important object of my invention to provide, in such a sand distributing! device, a method of treating the sand by heating it as it is fed through the machine. The heated sand thus fed from the device will not only be dr and free of lumps, but will partly embed itself in the'ice covering the street to not only give better traction to cars passing over the icy pavement, but also to prevent the grit from being swept out of place.

Other and furth r features and'objects of-the invention will be more apparent to-those skilled in the art upon a eonsiderati'onof the acconi panying drawing and following specification, wherein are disclosed several exemplary embodiments of the invention, with the understanding, however, that such changes may be made therein as fall within the scope of the appended claims,

I have noticed that, in the coldest weather, the sand or other grit is usually swept without departin'gfrom the spirit'of the "inVention.

In said drawing;

Figure 1 is a view'in elevation representingv sand distributing device constructed according to one embodiment o f'my in'ven'tion, and partly broken away to better illustrate its structure;

Figure 2'is a view'jin endelevation of thedevice shown in Figure 1 taken along the line 2 -2 partiallyb'roken away to illustrate the structure, and Figure 3 is a viewfiin section of the-device shownin Figure .1 'astaken alongthe finest-3L- Referring' nowto the drawing and more par ticularly to Figuresl to 3; adeVi is therein-ii trated which is constructed inaccordance with one embodiment of my invention. 7

In the form of'the"device"-shown in Figures '1" to 3 inclusive, means areprovidedior accurately" regulating thequahtity "of sanding material fed? through the machine. A' structure"constructed according to this modification of my'invention' includes a main frame 55'adapted to be supported-"- upon the rear end o fa vehicle; a sand hopper 56, a sand distributor 57, a drive meanssuch asa ga-s' engine 58, a speed reduction drive 59 for the dis tributor shaft 6], heater means 62, and-acor'fveyor for conveying sand from the 'hopper tcapoint above the distributor niean's. Thesand'is carried in thevehicle box and loaded by hand into" the hopper 56E I Sand from the hopper is fed onto conveyor fifi which carries the sand through the heater charn ber 64 and dischargesit'atapoint within=the casingtli and above the distributing wheel 57E The conveyor 63 is preferably inthe"form' of a pair of chainstl having a large number of drag bars 13 adapted to rest on the'drag plate 14. The chains are supported on sprockets and" 69* which are in turn mounted for rotation oncross" shafts H 'and 12. e

The cross shaft-l2- ispreferably driven-at a speed considerably "below that ofthe vertical dis-*- tributo-r shaft 6L I The drive may be accom'- plished", as shown, by means ofa worm on the dis tributor shaft and a worm gear on -'the'-cr'ossshaft or by any other suitable means such as a pair of bevel gears" enclosed in the'upper gear case 59 in addition to the main reduction gearing." If this last mentioned method is used, one'bevel' gear may be mounted on the vertical shaft 61 to" drive the other bevel gear on a short cross shaft from which power maybe transmitted -by"m'eaiis; of a' pulleym"ounte i on thesh'ort cross shaft through a V-belt to another larger pulley mounted on the sprocket drive shaft 12. It will be apparent that, with such construction, it will be a simple matter to vary the rate of speed of the conveyor relative to the speed of the distributor by simply changing the sizes of pulleys and belt.

The conveyor itself may comprise either a plurality of drag bars 13 attached at spaced intervals along each conveyor chain and adapted to drag the sand along the top of the drag plate 14 to a point above the discharge end of the casing 66, or the conveyor may be made in substantially belt-like form by attaching a fiat plate-like member to each link of the chain and mounting them so as to be closely adjacent to one another so as to form a practically continuous surface.

The amount of grit sent through the machine may be regulated in any case by means such as shown at 16. This may comprise a small hopper member adapted to receive material from the main hopper 56. This small hopper may be hingedly mounted on one side, as shown at '11, and

supported on the opposite side by adjustable means such as the rod 18 and the wing nut 19, to permit adjustment of the spacing between the bottom of the hopper and the top of the conveyor chain. f course any other suitable means for varying the spacing of the effective lower edge of the hopper with the conveyor belt may be used.

When it is desired to feed only a small quantity of sand through the device, the small hopper 16 is lowered to permit it to barely clear the drag U bars of the conveyor chain, and when a heavier feed is desired, the wing nut 19 is screwed downward to lift the small hopper and thus permit sand to be deposited on the conveyor to a greater depth.

A sliding valve 8! may be provided in the bottom of the main hopper, if desired, to completely shut off the flow of sand downwardly through the hopper. This sliding valve may be operated by means of a connecting rod 82, a bell crank 83, a vertical connecting rod 84, and an operating handle 85.

It will be noted that an outer heat retaining casing 86 is provided to at least partially enclose the hopper 56. This outer casing may be connected at its lower end to the heater chamber 64 and may be spaced away from the sand hopper, near the top edge thereof, to permit the outward passage of the burned gases, or the outer casing 86 may be provided near its upper edge with a plurality of openings 81 to serve the same purpose.

It is, of course, apparent that devices such as that here described may be applied to other uses than that of sanding icy streets. Such a device would be particularly suitable in evenly distributing sand over black top roads or newly tarred paving, which operations are generally performed manually.

It will be apparent that I have not only provided means for accurately regulating the quantity of sand or other grit passing through a distributing device, but have also provided a method and means for causing the grit to adhere to the.

may be heated as it is dropped off the conveyer.

It will be apparent also that the abrasive may be passed over a heated plate rather than through a heated chamber. Furthermore, means of heating other than the gasoline torch herein described may be used. These and other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An abrasive material distributing device including a hopper, a distributor, a heater chamber, a conveyer for feeding abrasive through the heater chamber, means for depositing abrasive from the hopper onto the conveyer, means for regulating the depth of abrasive deposited, means for discharging material from the conveyer onto the distributor, and means for driving the distributor and the conveyer.

2. An abrasive material distributing device including a distributor, a hopper, a conveyer, means for discharging material from the hopper onto the conveyer, in a relatively thin layer, means for discharging material from the conveyer onto the distributor, means for enclosing the con- Veyer, and means for'supplying heat to said enclosure for heating materials.

3. In a device for broadcasting anti-skid material, a distributor, a hopper, heater means, conveyer means for receiving material from the hopper and for feeding the material in a thin layer adjacent the heater means, and means for discharging the material thus heated onto the slinger.

4. In a device for broadcasting abrasives, a hopper, a distributor disc, a conveyer, means for driving the distributor disc and the conveyer,

abrasive on the conveyer, and means for dis-.

charging the abrasive from the conveyer onto the distributor disc.

5. In a device of the character described, a hopper, an enclosure for the hopper, a conveyor for receiving material discharged by the hopper, an enclosure for at least part of the conveyor, means for heating the space within the enclosure around the conveyor, and means for conducting some of the heat to the space within the enclosure around the hopper.

6. In a device of the character described, a hopper, a feed conveyor disposed therebelow, said conveyor. including a drag plate and drag bars slidably disposed thereabove, a rotary disc distributor disposed below the discharge end of the conveyor drag plate, means for driving the said conveyor and distributor disc, and means for regulating the depth of material carried by the drag bars on the drag plate.

7. In a device of the character described, a I

hopper, a feed conveyor disposed therebelow, said conveyor including a drag plate and drag bars slidably disposed thereabove, a rotary disc distributor disposed below the discharge end of the conveyor drag plate, means for driving the said conveyor and distributor disc, and means for 

